The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Ruhr Pocket (April-1945) - Apr. 15th, 2004

The Gray Bonnet - Combat History of the 121st Infantry Reg. ^ | Daniel M. Burns

[Samwise]

As you know, I am so sorry that the honor guard did not show up for the funeral. I am just telling you this so that you know how things were for us.

The honor guard for Daddy's funeral was filled with volunteers from a nearby American Legion. The funeral director said it was difficult to get honor guards (no guarantee), but Daddy was a member of the legion. (Mom was glad she had remembered to pay his dues. :^) It does sound as though your director may have dropped the ball. The guard was comprised of all WWII vets who were dedicated to making sure that all vets were honored. They do this on their own from the Legion. Mom made a contribution to their post for their actions. Let me say that even though I knew the gunshots were coming, they startled me and felt like they went right through my heart.

The government did supply a flag and a metal marker for the grave. Until recently, the government supplied these plates only for graves that had no headstone. But recently the laws changed so that any vet can receive one. Mom had Dad's mounted on the back of the stone. Also, make sure you apply for the Presidential Memorial certificate. I'm glad Dad's is from Dubya, not Bubba.

I remember the director saying that the honor guardsmen were not always healthy enough to come.

P.S. I think funerals and weddings have one thing in common: somthing always goes wrong. I can't tell you what went wrong at Dad's because Mom would kill me. :^)

[snippy_about_it]

On the day of his death, MG Rose and the 3d Armored Division made the longest ground gain of any U.S. military unit in the war.(1) On 31 March 1945, MG Rose was leading the 3d Armored Division in attacking a German tank training center outside Paderborn, Germany. MG Rose was at the head of the column in his jeep. Turning a corner, his driver ran into the rear of a German Tiger Tank. The German tank commander, about 18 years old, opened his turret hatch and leveled his sub machinegun at MG Rose, yelling to him apparently to surrender. (2) Rose, his driver, and his aide got out of the jeep and put their hands in the air.

For some reason, the tank commander became extremely agitated, and kept pointing to MG Rose and hollering at him while gesturing toward Rose's pistol. Rose lowered his right hand to release his web belt and thus drop his holster to the ground. Apparently, the German tank commander thought he was drawing his pistol. In a screaming rage, the German fired his weapon. MG Rose was hit in the head and was killed instantly. Later it was rumored in the U.S. Army that the German knew Rose was Jewish, but that almost certainly was not true. The driver and the aide managed to flee and lived to tell the story.



March 29th, 1945: U.S. Army 3rd Armored Division Commander General Maurice Rose is depicted just before he was fatally shot in a moment of confusion, by the King Tiger tank's Commander. Rose was looking for a cut-off lead element of his division when his vehicle became somehow pinned by the misidentified German tank. His accompanying soldiers escaped unharmed.

I'm posting but Sam is the expert here and he's over to watch tv with me so I'm posting but he's "directing". I'm thinking I might do a short weekend thread on Rose.

Rose's death really was a tragic accident.

[SAMWolf]

Samwise is correct. When I was active with Vietnow and Amvets back in Illinois. I performed quite of few Honor Guard duties. Our Commander would get a call requesting an Honor Guard and we usually had enough people from our Post or neighboring posts to have an Honor Guard, and a rifle squad for the salute. We were also fortunate enough to have one member whose son could play taps. We would usually get enough of a heads up so it was no problem but we did have a few "last minute" calls. Usually if your a member of a Veterans group, that organization can help with an Honor Guard.

[Long Cut]

Sorry to interrupt, FRiends, our troops in Iraq need you, RIGHT NOW!. No time to explain, just hit the link, read the article, and get in touch NOW with any military member you know who is there.

There are traitors among them, who may well get them killed or have their careers ruined.

Thanks, from a Sailor.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the heads up Long Cut. Consider it done.

[Valin]

Why didn't we win the Operation Market Garden in Holland in 1944?

Short answer.
Why did Market Garden fail? Several things can be mentioned. Untested Allied radio communications, bad weather, Intelligence’s failure to place the 2nd SS Panzer Corps in Arnhem, the narrow corridor.... The biggest problem of it all probably was the small margin the whole operation had. Everything had to be carried out on a tight schedule and if anything were delayed, the whole plan would fall apart. One setback may have been surmountable and Arnhem would have been reached in time, but that's not what happened.

An operation should be planned so that if 25% of its objectives are achieved, it’s called a success; the other 75% should be left for unexpected circumstances. With Market Garden it was the other way around. 75% of the operation had to be achieved as planned. Other causes were lack of efficient co-ordination and over cautiousness in some situations, such as the choice of drop zones remote from their targets and the XXX Corps failure to advance aggressively.

Market Garden wasn't a total failure. The corridor served as sally point for further assaults on the Germans and eventually led to the liberation of southern part of the Netherlands. The Dutch will always remember September 1944 and the soldiers who died for the liberation of Holland.
http://www.rememberseptember44.com/end.html

[Valin]

ARRRRRGH! My mind has been warped!! How am I supposed to get any sleep tonight?








SUCCESS!

[Valin]

I doubt Patton would have done something so foolish as try to push an offensive up one two lane road.

[snippy_about_it]

No the short answer when I was growing up was "because". :-)

Seriously, thanks for the analysis. Good answer!

[Valin]

See you in the morning.

[snippy_about_it]

Good night.

[SAMWolf]

Good synopsis Valin.

You're probably right about Patton not going up one road either.

[SAMWolf]

Nightmares brought to you by Valin.

[Darksheare]

My head spins at this.
Not guaranteed?
Egads.

[Professional Engineer]

That was/is my thought also. We'll see what comes of this.

[Darksheare]

I'll be waiting to hear the next update.
That is just unbelievable, and ridiculous!

[SMARTY]

My father said his last duty was in or around Nuremberg. He was with a fighter bomber group behind Patton. He said his last duty was sitting out in an airfield a few days before the official end of the fighting. He was posted there to 'escort' surrendering personnel into custody.